1986 VG30E from Z31 into 1992 Pathfinder XE

[snicker]

Late last year, I was doing about 70MPH on the freeway in my Pathfinder when the engine suddenly died. Turned out that the timing belt snapped. Being that the VG30E is not a non-interference engine, I surmised that most, if not all, of the valves would be damaged. Bummer. So it sat in my garage until I decided what I wanted to do with it.

 

Fast forward to a few months ago. I also have a 1976 280Z and hang out with a good number of the Z club locals. My friend's Z31 got smashed up and totaled, but his engine remained undamaged. He bought another Z31 as a body-donor for a fair price and told me if I got the engine out of it, I could have it for free.

 

So today, the work actually starts. I've never pulled an engine out of a Pathfinder before, but from some brief reading on the forums, it sounds like the easiest way to remove the engine is as follows:

 

1. Remove the driveshafts

2. Unbolt the transmission from the mount and engine and slide it back as far as it will go

3. Remove the radiator

4. Drop the front diff

5. Lift the engine straight up and out.

 

Seem right?

 

The next step is swapping things that are different from engine to engine. From some non-very-thorough inspection, it looks like at least the following has to be swapped from block to block:

 

1. Intake

2. Valve covers

3. Fuel rails

4. Distributor

 

Anyways, I'll be updating the thread with pictures. I hope to at least get the engine out this afternoon.

[Kingman]

Oh boy, more free Z engines going in to Pathfinders... Good stuff. The '86+ VG blocks should all have the same mounting bosses, so you'll be good on motor mounts and what not if that's the case. I had to modify my Pathfinder mounts to work with my '84 Z engine. Intake, valve covers, distributor, oil pan, and a few other little things are all that need to be swapped. Make sure you use the Pathfinder intake manifold gaskets.

 

Is your Pathfinder and the Z automatic? Or manual? Or?

[Tungsten]

Being that the VG30E is not a non-interference engine, I surmised that most, if not all, of the valves would be damaged.

 

Actually the VG is an interference engine, that's why the valves get squished. A redneck trick you can do to straighten out those valves is by prying them with a flat head screwdriver until they seat back into the seats properly.

[snicker]

Oh boy, more free Z engines going in to Pathfinders... Good stuff. The '86+ VG blocks should all have the same mounting bosses, so you'll be good on motor mounts and what not if that's the case. I had to modify my Pathfinder mounts to work with my '84 Z engine. Intake, valve covers, distributor, oil pan, and a few other little things are all that need to be swapped. Make sure you use the Pathfinder intake manifold gaskets.

 

Is your Pathfinder and the Z automatic? Or manual? Or?

The Z was manual, the Pathfinder is auto. Didn't think about the oil pan but it's a definite "duh" now. Check on the manifold gaskets.

 

 

Actually the VG is an interference engine, that's why the valves get squished. A redneck trick you can do to straighten out those valves is by prying them with a flat head screwdriver until they seat back into the seats properly.

 

Yup, not a non-interference double negatives get confusing. I figured if I had a free engine, it was probably better (and cheaper) than redneck fixes. The VG30E with the snapped belt had 180,000 miles on it, the '86 is still under 100k.

[Kingman]

Okay, you'll need to buy a new flex plate spacer for the Z engine then. It gets pressed in to the back of the block to center/support the flex plate and torque converter.

 

Or. Do a 5-speed swap while you have the engine out and save yourself from replacing a transmission later on when it fails.

[Tungsten]

I would also like to add that you should look into the round sprocket conversion so you can use the round tooth timing belts which last much longer than square tooth ones.

[snicker]

Okay, you'll need to buy a new flex plate spacer for the Z engine then. It gets pressed in to the back of the block to center/support the flex plate and torque converter.

 

I would also like to add that you should look into the round sprocket conversion so you can use the round tooth timing belts which last much longer than square tooth ones.

 

Have you guys got sources you could point me to for these parts? Wouldn't the VG30E that was already in the Pathfinder have that? Unless someone around here has a 5 speed transmission I could get pro-bono, I'm probably not going to replace the transmission right now I just had the transmission overhauled maybe 5,000 miles ago.

[Tungsten]

The VG30E was switched to round tooth sprockets in around late 1993. You should be able to easily source newer sprockets and bottom crank gear. They swap right in!

[1994SEV6]

Late last year, I was doing about 70MPH on the freeway in my Pathfinder when the engine suddenly died. Turned out that the timing belt snapped. Being that the VG30E is not a non-interference engine, I surmised that most, if not all, of the valves would be damaged. Bummer. So it sat in my garage until I decided what I wanted to do with it.

 

Fast forward to a few months ago. I also have a 1976 280Z and hang out with a good number of the Z club locals. My friend's Z31 got smashed up and totaled, but his engine remained undamaged. He bought another Z31 as a body-donor for a fair price and told me if I got the engine out of it, I could have it for free.

 

So today, the work actually starts. I've never pulled an engine out of a Pathfinder before, but from some brief reading on the forums, it sounds like the easiest way to remove the engine is as follows:

 

1. Remove the driveshafts

2. Unbolt the transmission from the mount and engine and slide it back as far as it will go

3. Remove the radiator

4. Drop the front diff

5. Lift the engine straight up and out.

 

 

Anyways, I'll be updating the thread with pictures. I hope to at least get the engine out this afternoon.

Hey there, I saw this thread and I had to comment. "Oh boy" pretty much sums it up.

 

I read the other replies and I laughed at the ambition.

The reason is, I'm currently *trying* to do a auto to 5speed swap in my Hardbody. It's kicking my ass like Chuck Norris

 

I love how you say "the EASIEST way ..is..unbolt transmission, and drop the front diff"

You have a CHORE in front of you. Oh boy.

 

While trying to get my transmission out, I ended up pretty much taking the whole truck apart. I thought I could cheat and not have to take the torsion bars out, boy was I wrong. To try to cheat, I took out the exhaust, I tried to jack it up and slide it back and slide it down..I tried a lot of stuff that I can't even remember due to the stress it put on me. It's insane.

So then, I thought I needed to drop the front diff. I did all this to avoid taking the torsion bars out. Let me tell you, the front diff has three 17mm nuts and bolts that hold it to the crossmember. They are soft as butter. You ARE going to strip those bolts. My dad stripped the first one, so he took a cold chisel to it. He finally got it off. (this is all in the very, very, VERY tight confines of a Japanese compact truck engine bay), and we finally got the 2nd one off. After about 2 hours of trying to apply several different types of leverage to the third one, we gave up after stripping it. There's no way to chisel that one off. The other option is to remove both of the CV axles and then remove the diff from the front.

 

To get the trans to budge, even an inch you have to remove both of the driveshafts. You need 2 14mm wrenches for the t-case drive shaft. I forget about the main drive shaft. That one isn't hard. You need to remove your shifter assembly. You need to remove the plate that surrounds the shifter and the t-case shifter. You need to remove the 14 bolts on the transmission. I think it's either 14 or 11. I heard it was 14, but I only counted 11. I did remove the bolts over 3 days though. Remove all the bolts. There are 2 for the starter. Most of them are 14mm, but the bolts for the starter are 15mm. The bolts on the starter have nuts on the back, so remember that. You are going to need a lot of extensions for the top 2 bolts. You need to have about 2 feet of extensions and then get them out through the floor of the cab.

 

OK. So you did all that. NOW you can slide it back. But only about 3 inches before the transfer case slams into the rear cross member with the torsion bars. Hmm..not enough room. The transmission/torque converter is still connected to the flywheel. Now you need to try to rotate the flywheel to access the bolts that connect it to the torque converter. You have to get those bolts through the hole where the starter was, but you can't. You can't possibly get them at that angle, no matter how hard you try. Now you need to undo the torsion bars and remove the rear crossmember. AHHH, now you can slide the transmission back as much as you want. Then you can pull the engine.

Well, let me correct myself, you can continue removing other things to be able to remove the engine.

 

Anyway, I just want you to know all those BEFORE you start it. If I had known it took this much work for my swap, I would have sold the truck. No question about it. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my truck, but it is not worth it. This project has dragged on for two weeks, and the old transmission is still in the truck. It's costing my money, time, it's almost been towed twice. I've lost so many bolts and broken so many parts. I don't even remember where some of the things go any more.

If the valves are smashed, just put an ad on craigslist. Pretty much say.."1992 Pathfinder, 180k miles, needs top rebuilt, trans recently overhauled, vg30de engine included" and ask for 2k

[snicker]

Hey there, I saw this thread and I had to comment. "Oh boy" pretty much sums it up.

 

I read the other replies and I laughed at the ambition.

The reason is, I'm currently *trying* to do a auto to 5speed swap in my Hardbody. It's kicking my ass like Chuck Norris

 

I love how you say "the EASIEST way ..is..unbolt transmission, and drop the front diff"

You have a CHORE in front of you. Oh boy.

I'm not removing the transmission at all. I've heard the horror stories about it. I only need less than 3 inches of movement of the transmission in order to get the engine out. I'm aware that the driveshafts have to be removed and the extensions required for the top bolts. I'll keep the 17mm bolts in mind when attacking the diff. I am not going to be able to finish this today (friend stopped by and we changed the clutch on his Z31) but I knew it was an ambitious project. I don't think anyone says "engine swap? no big deal"

[1994SEV6]

I'm not removing the transmission at all. I've heard the horror stories about it. I only need less than 3 inches of movement of the transmission in order to get the engine out. I'm aware that the driveshafts have to be removed and the extensions required for the top bolts. I'll keep the 17mm bolts in mind when attacking the diff. I am not going to be able to finish this today (friend stopped by and we changed the clutch on his Z31) but I knew it was an ambitious project. I don't think anyone says "engine swap? no big deal"

 

I didn't say to remove the transmission. You aren't going to get 3 inches of clearance. If there was 3 inches to get than I would have had my auto trans out and my manual trans in weeks ago. I think you have to slip the trans back as much as you can (an inch or so is all you'll get), and then pull the engine up to create and angle on the trans.

[sewebster]

It is possible to remove the engine without moving the transmission at all if you remove the front crossmember... but this usually requires removing the t-bars (which isn't really that big of a deal IMHO).

[1994SEV6]

It is possible to remove the engine without moving the transmission at all if you remove the front crossmember... but this usually requires removing the t-bars (which isn't really that big of a deal IMHO).

I don't know personally, but that sounds like a possibility. I was pretty scared of the torsion bars because I didn't know if I could put them back in correctly. I thought I had to measure distances from the ground to my control arms and my frame and i don't even know..I just didn't want to do that.

Like I said before, you can remove the front cross member. It's only 5 bolts. Two bolts hold it to the frame and another three hold it to the front diff. Don't mess with those three bolts on the diff. They are butter and you will strip them. I know it said it before. It's important to know.

[sewebster]

I didn't strip those bolts on my front diff... but it depends on the vehicle history, bolt torque history etc. From the factory, the front cross member bolts are installed such that they cannot be removed without removing the t-bars. I think when I reinstalled mine I put them back the same way since I thought maybe it was for a good reason. But I don't think it is, so putting them on the other way makes sense and then you can get the engine in and out easily.

[Tungsten]

It is possible to remove the engine without moving the transmission at all if you remove the front crossmember... but this usually requires removing the t-bars (which isn't really that big of a deal IMHO).

 

that's correct, the transmission will drop out with the torsion bars and the bracket cross member out of the way

you remove the torsion bars with the cross member as one single unit

[sewebster]

that's correct, the transmission will drop out with the torsion bars and the bracket cross member out of the way

you remove the torsion bars with the cross member as one single unit

 

I'm not sure if we're talking about the same thing... I was talking about removing the front cross member that sits underneath the oil pan.

[Nefarious]

you don't have to remove any crossmembers to get the engine out? well i took the one out that holds the rear of the front diff but thats cause those bolts holding it to the diff were seized... i just pulled my motor myself in a couple days... remove torsion bars... unbolt front cvs... jack up engine/transmission up as high as u can to get clearance. undo the bolts holding in the front diff and slide it back and out. then u have tons of room to work and to get the motor out.. i left my transmission completey in place.

Edited November 28, 2011 by Nefarious

[Kingman]

That's how mine came out, but without touching the torsion bars.

[sewebster]

Yeah, I didn't take the front diff out, just the cross member. Anyway, there are lots of ways to do it, just need to make room somehow

[Tungsten]

you have to remove something, common sense isn't it